Florida Supreme Court

Florida’s Office of Economic and Demographic Research known as EDR is tasked with predicting outcomes of proposed legislation, new laws, or constitutional amendments. But a new law has now changed how much work goes into predicting petition initiatives. EDR’s Coordinator Amy Baker spoke about what the changes mean.

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody doesn’t want a proposed constitutional amendment to ban possession of assault weapons in Florida to appear on the 2020 election ballot.

Moody outlined her arguments in a filing late Friday afternoon with the Florida Supreme Court. She said the title of the amendment — “prohibits possession of defined assault weapons” — and the summary of the amendment don’t adequately explain what the proposal would actually do.

DeSantis and health officials on Wednesday asked the 1st District Court of Appeal for a hearing by the full court, known as an “en banc” hearing, after a July 9 ruling that Florida’s “vertical integration” system requiring licensed operators to grow, process and distribute cannabis and by-products runs afoul of a constitutional amendment that broadly legalized medical marijuana.

The Florida House of Representatives wants a say in a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of state medical marijuana regulations. The chamber's lawyers asked a Tallahassee appeals court Tuesday for a chance to intervene.

Civil rights groups are hoping a federal judge will strike down a new Florida law that they say does not properly carry out a constitutional amendment restoring voting rights to felons who have completed their sentences.

The Florida Supreme Court issued a surprise ruling in late May regarding expert witness testimony.

Six years ago, the Florida Legislature adopted the Daubert standard for expert witnesses in court cases. But the state’s high court exercised its right to keep the Frye standard in place, which sets a lower threshold for what can be considered expert testimony.

The makeup of the Florida Supreme Court changed last January when three retiring justices were replaced with appointments made by Governor Ron DeSantis. The newly revamped court quickly decided to implement the tougher standards.

Granting a request by Gov. Ron DeSantis, the Florida Supreme Court on Monday impaneled a statewide grand jury to investigate whether school districts are complying with mandatory safety requirements following last February’s mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

Florida’s Supreme Court effectively blocked on Tuesday a Miami Beach law that would have raised the minimum wage in the city, ending a years long battle to allow Florida cities to set their own minimum wages.

The city passed an ordinance under former Mayor Philip Levine in 2016 that would have raised the minimum wage in the city to $13.31 by January 1st, 2021.

In a civil lawsuit stemming from a man killing four of his stepchildren in 2010, plaintiffs are asking the Florida Supreme Court to take up a dispute about how much money a state agency can be required to pay because of allegations of negligence.

From decisions on ethics, to the environment, to a Supreme Court pick, Ron DeSantis got a lot done in his first four days as Governor of the state of Florida.

Though it’s far too early to make conclusions about the way DeSantis will lead, it does appear the Republican governor is “trying to take some steps that will have broad appeal,” said Jim Saunders, Executive Editor for News Service of Florida, Friday on The Florida Roundup.